The Diplomat
The Embassy of Ukraine in Spain “strongly” condemns, according to a communiqué sent to The Diplomat, the celebration of the Russian propaganda campaign ‘Immortal Regiment’ yesterday, May 7, in Madrid.
The statement recalls that “on May 8, Ukraine, together with the entire civilized world, celebrates the Day of Remembrance and Reconciliation, dedicated to the victims of World War II and the victory over Nazism,” which laid the foundations of the modern international order based on equal rights for every country and people.
“At the same time,” it adds, “the dictatorial power of Russia, twisting historical facts, uses the historical memory of the victory over Nazism in World War II to propagate militarism and justify its war of aggression against Ukraine and the genocide of its people.”
The Ukrainian Embassy notes that the actions of the ‘Immortal Regiment’ are part of “hybrid warfare” which, “under Moscow’s coordination and financial support,” constitutes “a technique of political manipulation aimed at replacing the hereditary memory of those who died during World War II” with an ideological narrative about the “uniqueness and exclusivity of Russians saving the world from Nazism.”
“Unashamed of the criminal actions of the Russian authorities, with the participation of pro-Russian propagandists, the organizers of the ‘Immortal Regiment’ action today use the symbols of the Russian occupation authorities in certain areas of the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine in the Lugansk and Donetsk regions, as well as portraits of participants in the military aggression against the Ukrainian people,” the statement stressed.
“Today, Putin’s regime, under the pretext of propaganda,” it continues, “repeats the worst practices of Nazism, deliberately destroying the civilian population and its identity. The Russian occupation army regularly commits the brutal war crimes, abuses and mass shootings of the Ukrainian civilian population, mass deportations and abductions of children.”
The Ukrainian Embassy’s note concludes by stating that it “strongly condemns Russia’s attempts to appropriate the victory over Nazism and manipulate the international community to satisfy its imperial and expansionist intentions”.
